For the last year, the 1083rd Transportation Company with the La. National Guard has been deployed overseas. The Haughton Police Department welcomed the men and women of this unit home, including one of its own, Ofc Daniel Munds, on April 24.
Mayor Arceneaux is pleased to announce the appointment of Leigh Anne Evensky as the Director of Communications for the City of Shreveport, effective, April 1. Evensky brings a wealth of experience and expertise to our team, and we are thrilled to welcome her in this position.
A Shreveport native and Caddo Parish Magnet High School graduate, Leigh Anne went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in Business Marketing from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and a Juris Doctor from Loyola University New Orleans College of Law. Evensky passed the Louisiana State Bar Examination in August of 2017. She has previously served as the Executive Director for the Rotary Club of Shreveport and has served as the Administrative Assistant in the Mayor’s Office for the last three months. We believe her strong educational background combined with her extensive professional experience uniquely positions her to lead the mayor’s communication efforts effectively.
Evensky expressed excitement about her new role, stating, “I am honored to begin my new role in this outstanding administration, and I look forward to contributing to its success. I am eager to collaborate with my new colleagues and help Mayor Arceneaux achieve his goals for the City of Shreveport!”
Five LSUS faculty members were honored at the University’s Outstanding Faculty Awards ceremony Monday at the Noel Memorial Library.
Three awards were given for teaching excellence with one research and one service award.
Dr. Urska Cvek received the research award, Dr. Margaret Gifford received the service award, and the three teaching awards were earned by Melinda Cassel, Dr. Jemin Kim and Dr. Roger Zhao.
The Research and Faculty Development Grant Committee reviewed the nominations and selected the winners. Each winner received a $6,000 award.
Cvek, a computer science professor, holds the Lisa Burke Bioinformatics Endowed Professorship.
“(Cvek) has a unique multidisciplinary background, expertise and insight that spans more than 20 years,” read one of her nominations. “She has been initiating, planning, developing, and executing research projects independently and with collaborators in multidisciplinary teams that have resulted in grant-funded proposals and publications by faculty, undergraduate, and graduate students.”
One such example is partnering with LSU Health Shreveport personnel to secure a large grant for research to lower cost for Louisiana Medicaid patients with inflammatory bowel disease.
Gifford is an assistant psychology professor is credited with significant growth in the program.
“(Gifford) put a huge effort into recruiting, advising and mentoring,” one nomination read. “Additionally, she developed an internship class for our undergraduates, which is a standout learning experience for our students to apply classroom concepts to the real world in local clinic settings. Accomplishing this is no light task.”
Cassel spends time outside of the classroom to make sure her students grasp the math material.
“(Cassel) is the first to arrive and last to leave almost every day,” read her nomination. “Students love her as a teacher, mentor, and as a support.
“She works with departments like the Student Success Center/Initiatives, Academic Affairs, and each member of our department to help our students in every possible way.”
Kim has developed meaningful relationships with students and faculty alike.
“(Kim) generously shares his knowledge and expertise with his colleagues, embodying qualities such as hard work, genuine enthusiasm, and effective communication essential for academic success,” his nomination read. “His encouragement of individual responsibility and adeptness at engaging students who may otherwise feel discouraged further underscore his effectiveness as an educator.”
Zhao has evaluated and strengthened the computer science department’s curriculum among other achievements.
“(Zhao’s) impact on our program has been profound, and he’s hit the ground running,” his nomination read. “He identified the areas for improvement within our curriculum and took decisive action to revitalize it.”
By JOHN JAMES MARSHALL, Journal Sports
Every once in a while, things just seem to go your way over the course of a few days. Maybe it’s just good luck or maybe you simply make it happen, but sometimes the stars just seem to line up in your favor.
Good for you, but did you pitch 7 2/3 innings in your first-ever playoff start on the mound and single-handedly keep your team in the game until it was won in extra innings?
Kade Bryant did.
Did you then turn around three days later and shoot a career-low 68 at the regional golf meet?
Kade Bryant did.
Whether or not his playoff hair dye job makes things better or worse is a matter of personal preference, but there is no doubt that Bryant had a pretty special week competing for Benton High School.
One of those accomplishments would be good enough to double your Instagram followers. But both?
Wait a minute … what happened to the whole specialize-in-one-sport thing? Bryant is specializing in two sports at the same time.
“I put a lot of time into both,” he says. “I come to baseball after school, go home for a little while and then go to the golf course. It is tiring, especially keeping up with school, too.”
And to make things even better, he’s not even specializing with the same hand. In baseball, he’s a left-handed pitcher; in golf, he’s a righty.
“I’ve always been left-handed, but when I started playing golf, I just started using right-handed clubs,” Bryant says. “So I stuck with it.”
Athletes playing two sports during a school year is not that unusual. Athletes playing two sports at the same time does happen, but usually only in special circumstances.
But athletes playing two sports at the same time at this level and having top-shelf performances on the big stage just doesn’t happen very often.
“I understand he’s a baseball player first,” says Benton golf coach Tim Cram. “But if he played golf all the time, he’d be really, really good.”
Cram should know; he’s been coaching golf for 30 years.
“First of all, he’s one of the hardest workers I’ve ever had,” Cram says. “But he retains information in a way that is unbelievable. You tell him something one time and he puts it into use. In all my years of coaching, you have a handful that just get it; those who are good athletically, great kids, mature and work hard. He’s one of those.”
Bryant started playing baseball when he was three but didn’t take up golf until he was 10. “I found out I was kinda good at it,” Bryant says.
It’s pretty obvious what the next question is. “I think I like baseball a little bit more because of the team aspect of it,” he says. “Just being around the guys all year long and seeing the improvement makes it a lot more fun.”
But that is not to say that golf is a distant second for Bryant. “I love how golf is the course versus yourself,” he says. “You have to mentally stay locked in and do what you do best.”
The funny thing is, Bryant doesn’t appear dominant in either sport – until you look at the results. As a pitcher, he throws in the mid-80s but has very good control. “I’m not going to throw anything by you,” he says, “but I do locate my pitches pretty well.”
On the golf course, “I’m not much of a long hitter. I just need to hit fairways, hit greens and run some putts in,” he says.
The biggest issue about Bryant playing so well in both sports isn’t really an issue at all. Cram and Benton baseball coach Dan Peavy got together before the season and worked out a schedule that didn’t have too many conflicts.
Now that the postseason has arrived, the schedule gotten even better. Baseball playoffs are on weekends and postseason golf tournaments are scheduled for early in the week.
The Benton baseball team will be in Dutchtown this weekend in the second round of the Division I Non-Select playoffs.
Kade Bryant will be there.
The Benton golf team will be in Lafayette Monday and Tuesday for the Division I state championship tournament.
Kade Bryant will be there, too.
Contact JJ at johnjamesmarshall@yahoo.com
By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Sports
NATCHITOCHES – Airline’s Jeremiah Boudreaux, Jenna Key of Byrd and Parkway’s Devon “D.D.” Oliver are three of Shreveport-Bossier’s most prominent and accomplished active high school track and field competitors.
They lived up to billing Wednesday at the Region 1-5A track and field meet staged at the Walter P. Ledet Complex on the Northwestern State campus.
Boudreaux, who has overcome a fractured lower leg suffered late in October in football, was the meet’s Outstanding Boys Track Performer, scoring 21 ½ points in four events, winning the 110 and 300 meter hurdles and running a leg on the Vikings’ third-place 4×400 meter relay team. His 300 hurdles time of 37.16 was a personal best, after he started the day scoring eight points with a second place in the high jump (6-6).
Key, an LSU signee, dominated her specialty, the 3200 meter run, as expected, breezing home with a 15-second margin in 11:29.32. That came after she ran a personal record 5:12.46 time for second in the 1600 and qualified for next weekend’s state meet in that race.
Oliver, the reigning Class 5A state discus champion, wasn’t the top seed in Wednesday’s competition that featured seven of the state’s top eight performers this spring, but he walked away the winner with a personal and state-best 176-4 throw. Earlier, the junior pulled off a surprising triumph in the shot put with a PR of 53-8 3/4.
His twin wins made him the Outstanding Boys Field Performer and helped Parkway capture its first-ever regional team championship, a week after the Panthers were outpointed by their crosstown rivals, Boudreaux and the Vikings, at the district meet.
Parkway pooled together 87 points while Airline was second Wednesday with 75. Alexandria Senior High took third at 74 and Ruston was fourth (69) in the boys team standings.
Along with Oliver’s wins, the Panthers got 10-point boosts from first places by surprise champion Will Achee in the 200 (a 21.64 PR) and in the 4×400 relay as Achee’s anchor leg rallied Parkway to the meet-ending, title-clinching victory in 3:20.47.
Parkway rang up 14 points with its stout distance combo of Brennan Robin (second, 4:33.09) and Gabe Falting (third, 4:33.86) in the 1600 (both ran legs on the 4×4), got 10 in the 400 with Achee (second, 48.03) and Brody Hocter (fifth, 50.24) and eight in the 800 (a second-place 1:56.94 by Falting) and the runner-up 4×800 relay team (8:06.18) – the Panthers’ “B-team,” said co-head coach Kent Falting.
Boudreaux, who will be competing in his fifth state meet (third outdoors), didn’t have an easy road to this one after last fall’s fractured lower leg.
“First, I have to thank God for everything. I spent whole lotta time praying. It’s easy to get down on yourself when you get injured,” he said. “I kept in mind I wanted to be here in track season. I rested for two and a half months, drank a lot of protein shakes so I wouldn’t just deteriorate, and as soon as I could, I worked hard strengthening my ankle.”
It paid off. He said he’s “pretty close” to peak form and the Central Arkansas signee believes he can improve on all three of Wednesday’s marks (he won the 110 hurdles by nearly a second in 14.35) next Saturday in Baton Rouge.
Key was thrilled she’ll compete in two events at her future home, LSU’s Bernie Moore Track Stadium, and was extra pleased teammate Spencer Frierson (11:46.60) will make her first state meet trip after taking third in the 3200.
“I wanted to push really hard on the mile. I finally got a best time, so all my hard work paid off. I’ve tried and tried and failed and failed, but today I gave it one last shot and the competition was great, and I took advantage of it,” she said. “I don’t double a lot – 16 and 32, I’m not used to it. It’s hot, so I knew I’d be pretty fatigued after the 1600, and I was. I didn’t know how I was going to run the 32, but I did it. I just wanted to get a championship under my belt, and the two-mile is my favorite race. And Spencer made it to state. I’m very pleased.”
Byrd’s girls were fifth in the team standings with 32 points, second among local teams. Airline took fourth at 43 points while Lafayette High dominated with 103, ahead of Barbe (91) and ASH (86).
Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com
NATCHITOCHES — It’s unusual for a head coach to handle the public address duties at a track meet where his team is contending for a championship.
It’s also unusual for a team to win a championship while its other head coach is an hour away.
That’s just part of the unconventional storyline of the first-ever regional track and field championship for Parkway High School. The Panthers brought home the Region 1-5A boys crown Wednesday from NSU’s Walter P. Ledet Complex with a healthy dose of pleasant surprises – motivated by a bundle of joy.
That particular aspect was back home. Hudson Thomas Kennady made his arrival Monday. The baby boy’s birth kept Parkway co-head coach and proud papa Chris Kennady from being in Natchitoches. But he got constant updates through the afternoon as the Panthers pursued the team title, and he helped finish it in style as his runners closed the meet with a winning 4×400 relay performance.
“We put him on the phone for the 4×4 pep talk, and the entire race,” said Kent Falting, the other half of the Panthers’ co-head coaching tandem. “We want to dedicate this to his new son, Hudson Thomas Kennady. The kids really stepped up for Chris there. Even though he couldn’t be here, we’re glad to be bringing something home to him.”
Falting had a unique perspective all day long. He maintained neutrality and calm, so far as anyone could tell, while he handled announcing duties for the meet once again.
“I don’t know why they keep asking me to do it,” he said, “but it’s not a distraction for our kids. We compete in big meets all year. They know how to get ready. And we have a great staff of assistant coaches who keep me updated and keep encouraging our kids at all the events.”
He did not get choked up the slightest bit as he announced the final team scoring totals, probably because he’s also used to announcing the strong finishes in the regional meet over the past four years by his son, Panthers’ distance ace Gabe Falting, headed for another state meet after scoring 16 ½ of the team’s winning 87 points.
That, his dad expected. There was plenty more he and the other Parkway coaches didn’t when they outlined the path to the regional championship.
“A couple of days ago, we looked and realized we had a chance. We thought everything had to go perfect,” said the elder Falting, “and not a lot of it happened the way we mapped it out. We had more success stories than we thought. We’re taking 16 kids to state, which has to be the most in school history. It was definitely a surprise day in all the right ways.”
Not much of a surprise: Devon Oliver, the reigning Class 5A discus champ, winning his specialty, although he wasn’t the top seed coming in. That was Alexandria Senior High’s Hunter Rivet, who had the state’s best mark this season, 171-3 ½.
“I had a good practice this week, came out here and did what I thought I could do,” said Oliver. “I’m proud of myself. I knew I could get it out there, but I surprised myself with that throw. I think (Rivet) pushed me to throw farther, knowing what he had done, and I had to do better.”
But that’s not all. Earlier, he was an unanticipated regional champ in the shot put.
“The shot’s not been his deal this year, but he’s been working really hard at that. D.D. was seeded fifth coming in, and popped a PR, 53-9, and won that, which was huge,” said Falting.
Another early encouraging sign? “We ran our B-team in the 4×8, and were hoping they would sneak in third. They ran 8:06, four seconds off our school record, which was crazy, and won,” he said.
Later, Will Achee, after being nipped in his specialty, the 400, and settling for second, beat everybody in the 200.
“We were hoping he would score some points but winning it was huge,” said Falting.
“Those were the things we didn’t know were going to happen, that did. We were counting very heavily on the distance kids and the 4×4, and they did exactly what we needed, and with those extra things, it made all the difference.”
That made for a very pleasant ride up I-49 to Bossier City, and an auspicious start to the life of Hunter Thomas Kennady.
Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com
JOURNAL SPORTS
MANSFIELD – Loyola Prep’s boys finished three points behind Region I-2A track champion Menard here Wednesday as four individual performers qualified for the state meet in four events along with one relay team.
Franklin Roemer led the individual performers for the Flyers claiming first-place finishes in the 1600 (4:36.07) and 3200 (11:06.42) on the track. Mark Henry (2:02.89) placed third in the 800 and Landon Hooper was second in the 3200 with a 11:10.16 time.
Also on the track, LCP’s 4×800 relay team was first in 8:35.06.
In the field, Reece Armagost took first in the pole vault with an 11-6 effort for the Flyers, who finished with 62 points.
Calvary had two individuals make it to the state meet with qualifying times on the track. Kolby Thomas was first in the 100 meters in 11.13, while Jackson Burney clocked the best time in the 800 in 1:54.33. The Cavaliers 4×400 relay team was first in 3:26.49 and the 4×200 relay team had a second-place time of 1:31.60.
Green Oaks had a pair qualify as Cyrus Wilson took third in the 1600 with a time of 4:47.35. Cortaveus Dorsey was a double qualifier with a first place in the long jump (21-9 ½) and second in the triple jump (44-5 ½).
Loyola’s girls had two qualify individually and two relay teams made it to state. Emily Anderson was the only individual qualifier on the track with a first-place finish in the 800 with a time of 2:28.59. The 4×800 relay team edged out Rosepine for first with a 10:35.53. The 4×100 relay team clocked a second-best 50.72. Freshman Landry Hooper was third in the high jump with a leap of 4-6.
JOURNAL SPORTS
DEVILLE – Evangel Christian Academy started the second round of the LHSAA Select Division II baseball playoffs with a 1-0 shutout of Buckeye here Wednesday.
Landon Martin got the complete game win on the mound allowing four hits, one walk and struck out eight.
The Eagles’ Ethan Mandigo scored the game’s only run in the second inning after getting one of ECA’s three hits. Garrett Burns and Brody Turnipseed had the other two hits for Evangel.
The win upped the Eagles’ record on the season to 15-16. Game 2 will be today at 4:30 and if necessary, Game 3 will follow.
Calvary Baptist (23-10) welcomes Episcopal (13-14) to Shreveport to play their first playoff game of 2024 in Select Division III today after both schools received first-round byes. The Cavaliers are the No. 6 seed and Episcopal No. 11.
LHSAA second-round baseball playoff games
Select Division II
Evangel leads series 1-0
G1: Evangel 1, Buckeye 0
G2: Today, 4:30 p.m.
G3: if necessary 7 p.m.
Select Division III
11-Episcopal (13-14) at 6-Calvary (23-10)
G1: Today, 6 p.m.
G2: Friday, 4 p.m.
G3: if necessary, 6:30 p.m.
Non-Select Division I
13-Benton (27-9) at 4-Dutchtown (22-10)
G1: Friday, 6 p.m.
G2: Saturday, noon
G3: if necessary 3 p.m.
11-Parkway (24-8) at 6-Live Oak (23-11)
G1: Friday, 6 p.m.
G2: Saturday, noon
G3: if necessary 3 p.m.
Select Division I
12-Acadiana (15-16-1) at 5-Captain Shreve (26-8)
G1: Friday, 6 p.m.
G2: Saturday, Noon
G3: if necessary, 3 p.m.
20-Byrd (11-21) at 4-Northwood (26-6)
G1: Friday, 6 p.m.
G2: Saturday, Noon
G3: if necessary, 3 p.m.
Select Division III
15-Loyola (16-17) at 2-Parkview Baptist (27-6)
G1: Friday, 6 p.m.
G2: Saturday, Noon
G3: if necessary, 3 p.m.
The Flyers shot a team score of 290, 49 strokes better than second place Calvary. Notre Dame (Crowley) came in third with a 347.
Cassano, who has signed to play at LSU next year, had six birdies and took medalist honors over teammate Charles Valiulis, who shot a 72, and Caldwell Parish’s Peyton Cruse, who also had a 72.
Though only the top four scores from the five-man team counted, the Flyers had five of the six lowest scores of the day. Loyola’s Jack Gilmer shot a 73, Charlie Bell had a 75 and Collier White had a 76.
Calvary’s Noah Wassom and Ezra Smith each shot an 86 to lead the Cavaliers.
Both the Flyers and Cavaliers will be at the two-day state tournament next week in Carencro.
There are plenty of folks who include the outdoors as a part of their lives. They hunt; they fish; they hike but their nine-to-five jobs occupy the majority of their time.
For a handful of others, the outdoors is basically their life; they’re consumed with the woods and waters. That’s why this select group can’t wait to wake up every morning and go to their job in some form of making their living in outdoor industries. John Brown is just such a fellow.
For the 57-year-old Brown, it started some 30-odd years ago when he teamed up with fellow Ruston High School graduate Rex Moncrief to plan, film produce and star in an outdoor television show, “The Outdoor News,” which ran for a few years on area TV stations.
Wanting more exposure to the outdoors, Brown had become adept at handling video equipment and he began doing free-lance video works for such outdoors-related companies as Knight and Hale, Primos, Mossy Oak. His work caught the attention of the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) and for near 30 years, Brown worked with that organization eventually becoming executive producer of their television and video work.
Aside from his involvement with the outdoors, Brown developed an interest in coaching youth baseball. While living in Edgefield, SC, headquarters of the NWTF, he coached youngsters and in 2019, his team of 12-year-olds won a national championship. Interestingly, the tourney was held in Ruston.
“I came to Ruston for the tournament and it was like a homecoming to me. I wanted to plant myself back here in north Louisiana where I was raised. I told my boss at the NWTF I wanted to take an early retirement so I could move back home,” said Brown.
After retiring, Brown and his wife, a retired school teacher, live in the country outside W. Monroe. Has he retired from his outdoors ventures? That’s not in Brown’s DNA. He writes features for LA Sportsman magazine and has taken a consuming interest in 51 acres of land in Caldwell Parish his dad had purchased before he passed away last year. Brown is converting the property his dad left him to a mecca for wildlife.
“When I first walked over the property, it was so thick and overgrown you could hardly pick your way through it. There was no way you could think about finding a turkey track. For the past year and a half I have worked on the land, clearing brush and establishing food plots. Last week,” said Brown, “I called up two longbeard gobblers, a hen and six jakes at one time.
“I have rededicated myself to telling the conservation story that no matter if a piece of property is large or small, if you work on the habitat, wildlife will react and find it.”
Brown’s next project, which will reach fruition on April 30, is his book, “Gathering Light.’
“Before he passed away, my dad had encouraged me to write down what I had done in stories I could pass down as a legacy to my kids and grandchildren. I finally did it. The book tells about my growing up in Franklin Parish on the Tensas River as well as my outdoors-related work down through the years,” he said.
The hard cover book as well as in E-book form will be available starting April 30. Search for it on Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.
This book will appeal to not only outdoorsmen and women but with John Brown’s God given ability to tell a story, it’s a book anyone will enjoy reading.
Contact Glynn at glynnharris37@gmail.com
Three Centenary graduates are among the more than 800 voting delegates at the 2024 General Conference of the United Methodist Church that opened yesterday in Charlotte, North Carolina. Louisiana has a delegation of 12 representatives present at General Conference: three clergy delegates, three lay delegates and six reserve delegates.
Representatives from Africa, Asia, Europe, and the United States will convene for the first UMC General Conference since the planned 2020 conference was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. General Conference generally meets every four years, so the last regular session of the UMC’s governing body was in May 2016, nearly eight years ago.
General Conference is the UMC’s highest legislative body and has the authority to make revisions to the Book of Discipline, containing doctrine, the constitution, church law, and rules and procedures; and to the Book of Resolutions, which outlines the denomination’s position on current social issues. The legislative body also approves budget allocations for UMC ministries around the world and elects members of important denominational leadership bodies, such as the Judicial Council.
Voting delegates at the General Conference are half clergy and half lay leaders who are chosen by annual conferences, the denomination’s regional governing bodies. In the Louisiana delegation, Adam Philley ’09, the director of music ministry at Broadmoor UMC in Shreveport, was elected as the only reserve lay delegate. Rev. Katie McKay Simpson ’04, senior minister at University UMC in Baton Rouge, will serve as a clergy delegate, while Marissa Teauseau Horvath ’10, pastor at First Hammond UMC in Hammond, was chosen as a reserve clergy delegate.
“General Conference is such an important event in the life of the United Methodist Church,” said Reverend Lindy Broderick, Centenary College chaplain. “It is a time for ‘holy conferencing’ when delegates from all over the world meet in fellowship with one another as they make decisions for the church as a whole. With the support of prayer and the work of the Holy Spirit, delegates discern how to best support God’s ministry in the world. Part of Centenary’s mission is to ‘prepare global citizens for productive lives of vitality and purpose.’ Our Centenary graduates who are serving as delegates to General Conference are a testament to that leadership.”
The postponed 2020 General Conference runs through May 3, 2024, in Charlotte. News and other resources related to the conference, including a livestream of proceedings, is available at resourceumc.org.
Guangjun Wang, a student at Caddo Magnet High School, was awarded a $10,000 scholarship from the Amazon Future Engineer (AFE) Program to study computer science or engineering at the U.S. college of his choice, starting this fall. He is among 400 students receiving scholarships this year and the only recipient in Louisiana.
As an AFE scholarship recipient, he will also receive a paid internship offer at Amazon, after his freshman year of college. Members of the Amazon team, along with leadership from Caddo Parish Schools, and Guangjun’s teacher and fellow classmates from Computer Science and Cybersecurity were on hand to celebrate Guangjun’s achievement today.
In addition to his scholarship, Amazon is donating $10,000 to Caddo Magnet High to help support their goals in providing quality education for local students.
Ronnie Clyde Dison
October 7, 1952 — April 21, 2024
Service: Thursday, April 25, 2024, 1:30pm at Rose Neath Funeral Home, Vivian.
Hylton Warren Hanson, Sr.
September 20, 1940 — April 21, 2024
Service: Thursday, April 25, 2024, 2pm at Rose Neath Cemetery, Bossier City.
Frank Lon Chrietzberg
August 29, 1945 — April 22, 2024
Service: Thursday, April 25, 2024, 11am at Rose Neath Funeral Home, Southside.
Ms. Joyce Griffin
July 11, 1958 ~ April 14, 2024
Service: Friday, April 26, 2024, 11am at Heavenly Gates, Shreveport.
Billye Marie Moore Milner
February 22, 1935 — April 21, 2024
Service: Saturday, April 27, 2024, 1pm at Broadmoor Baptist Church, Shreveport.
Mr. Dewey Crayton, Sr.
May 21, 1963 – April 14, 2024
Service: Saturday, April 27, 2024, Noon at Pleasant Hill Baptist Church
Charles Roy Smith
February 15, 1949 — April 18, 2024
Service: Monday, April 29, 2024, 12:30pm at Northwest LA Veterans Cemetery, Keithville.
Roy Franklin McClure
November 1, 1947 — April 14, 2024
Service: Friday, May 3, 2024, 10am at St. Margaret Catholic Church, Homer.
The Shreveport-Bossier Journal publishes paid obituaries – unlimited words and a photo, as well as unlimited access – $95. Contact your funeral provider or SBJNewsLa@gmail.com . Must be paid in advance of publication. (Notice of Death shown above are FREE of charge. You may email them to SBJNewsLa@gmail.com)
The Shreveport Fire Department was dispatched to the scene of a house on fire Tuesday around 12:04 a.m. in the 200 block of Skylark Dr.
The first unit arrived on the scene within eight minutes of the dispatch and reported heavy flames visible and began exterior firefighting measures. Firefighters worked successfully to prevent the spread of the flames to any nearby structures. Approximately 21 fire personnel, operating 17 units worked together to bring the fire under control within 30 minutes.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation currently, and a full assessment of the damage is not available. There were no injuries to civilians or firefighters. The structure was known to be vacant, so no one was displaced due to the blaze.
The vigilance of neighbors prevented the spread of fire to surrounding residences, so remember if you see something say something. Also, if you need a smoke detector installed in your home by Shreveport Fire Department, please call 318-673-6740.
Baseball fans in north Louisiana whose dads and granddads were raised on the radio sounds of KMOX and St. Louis Cardinals baseball remember Whitey Herzog, who led the Cardinals to a World Series title (1982) and two other World Series appearances (1985 and 1987) in his 10 years as the team’s colorful manager.
The prematurely white-haired Herzog passed away last week at 92, one of the last “characters” of the old-school game.
A tip of the ballcap to Whitey, the architect of one of the great nights of my otherwise feeble life.
It was a July Tuesday in Busch Stadium in 1986, and the San Francisco Giants were in town and so was I, writing stories on some former Shreveport Captains who were now Giants. The Cards were defending world champions but were struggling through a .500 summer, a team built offensively on speed while the Giants were an offense built on power.
St. Louis would sweep the series but it’s that Tuesday game that was the one to remember. The Cards led 10-2 in the fourth.
In the bottom of the fifth, they stole a base.
It’s sort of an unwritten rule that you don’t steal with a big lead. Roger Craig, the Giants manager, knew this and seemed to take it personally when San Francisco reliever Juan Berenguer (blast from the past, right?) came into the game and threw at the first hitter he saw; it was the only batter he faced.
This brought Herzog out of the Cardinals dugout to protest to the home plate umpire and, a scenario you don’t see often, Craig came out of the Giants dugout and joined the conversation. The last time you’ve seen both managers yelling at the home plate umpire at the same time is … when? Only time I’ve ever seen it.
Neither manager, as it turned out, was yelling at the umpire. They were yelling at each other. Fairly quickly they were nose to nose. Fingers jabbing. Spit flying. Then the dugouts emptied, and it were as if Herzog and Craig were each a point on opposing spears, with each team forming an arrow behind their guy.
Heated down there on the Busch Stadium turf, sure, but beautiful from where I sat in the press box, listening to 23,000-plus yelling in favor of Whitey “The White Rat” Herzog.
You knew what the argument was about, and after the game, Herzog explained it to me and other writers, his sock feet on his desk in his office underneath the stadium, leaned back in his swivel chair, a can of beer in his left hand. (A former player, Herzog batted, threw, and drank lefty.)
“Does Roger think he invented the game?” Herzog was saying. “I told him if he promised not to hit any three-run homers, I’d promise we wouldn’t try to steal any more bases. We can’t score the same way he can.”
Some other names from that weekend: Chris Brown, Robby Thompson, Jeffrey Leonard, Chili Davis, Mike LaValliere, Willie McGee, Vince Coleman, Tom Herr, Terry Pendleton. Steve Carlton actually hit a three-run homer in the Monday night opener, the only runs his team scored in an 8-3 loss. Only time I ever saw him pitch live — or hit a home run live. Hit it good too; slapped it off one of those columns in right in old Busch.
Good times.
But the most beautiful part of the whole thing was after the game and Herzog explaining, with a big smile, his side of the argument. His beltless baseball pants unbuttoned to allow that 56-inches-or-so of waist a little freedom. And him holding that can of beer. Of course, in Busch Stadium it was a Busch beer. A freebie.
The funny part was it was a Busch Light.
Whitey, always looking for an edge.
Contact Teddy at teddy@latech.edu
With three bond propositions on the ballot April 27 the citizens of Shreveport have been reminded of previously passed bond proposals. A continuously asked question is that of the 2021 Bond Projects, what is the status of those projects today? Mayor Arceneaux has responded to the people with a five-minute podcast that details each of the bond projects from the 2021 bond proposal, and where those projects stand today. You can watch the podcast at this link — https://www.youtube.com/live/7l5YxwnQRRA?si=AajN9SWSsYYhbgzm
This podcast gives an honest, and straightforward account of the progress of each project along with a timeline for the next step of each project that is unfinished. The podcast can be found on the City of Shreveport’s website, Facebook, and YouTube page.
If you would like to follow along with the current bond propositions, please refer to this website: https://bond.shreveportla.gov. Also, there are two more community-wide bond meetings left if you would like to educate yourself on the bond propositions up for vote this Saturday. One meeting at 5:30 pm at LSUS Wednesday April 24, and one meeting at 5:30 pm at the Highland Center, MeetingRoom One on Thursday, April 25.
For further assistance, please contact Leigh Anne Evensky at 318-205-4993.
The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development announces a project to improve a section of LA 511 (W. 70th Street) and LA 523 (Line Avenue) in Shreveport.
The $473,454 project was awarded to Progressive Construction Co., LLC, and is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, May 1. Work includes concrete panel and joint repair to several locations along these two roadways.
Repairs on LA 511 will stretch from Linwood Avenue to Mansfield Road, and on LA 523 from Ashley Ridge to 70th Street.
Intermittent lane closures will be necessary to allow for construction activities to take place.
The entire project is anticipated to wrap up in early Summer 2024, with progress dependent on weather conditions and other factors that can impact construction timelines.
Safety reminder:
DOTD appreciates your patience and reminds you to please drive with caution through the construction site and be on the lookout for work crews and their equipment.
Area residents should exercise caution when driving, walking, or biking near an active construction zone.
Additional information:
Call 511, visit http://www.511la.org, or download the Louisiana 511 mobile app for additional information. Out-of-state travelers may call 1-888-ROAD-511 (1-888-762-3511). Motorists may also monitor the LA DOTD website at http://www.dotd.la.gov, by selecting MyDOTD, or by visiting the DOTD Facebook and Twitter pages.
Elm Grove Middle’s Chris Kourvelas is a Louisiana Teacher of the Year semifinalist. He believes that all students can become extraordinary individuals and he finds ways to build on this idea through teaching and coaching.
By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Sports
Beginning his playing days in junior high during World War II, riding for an hour in the back of a pickup truck to start college at Northwestern State, and finishing eight decades in organized basketball helping choose officials for the NCAA’s Division I Final Four, Tynes Hildebrand has lived an unparalleled career.
Player, coach, athletics director, officials observer. From the 1940s until a decade ago, the 93-year-old Hildebrand has been immersed in his favorite game, the only sport he could play growing up in rural Sabine Parish and attending tiny Florien High School.
He has counted among his friends and colleagues legends such as longtime USA Olympic coach Henry Iba of Oklahoma State, national-championship coaches John Wooden (UCLA), Indiana’s Bob Knight, UTEP’s Don Haskins, and Louisiana icons including Dale Brown, Fred Hobdy, Billy Allgood, Lenny Fant and Benny Hollis. Hildebrand, Knight and Haskins helped Iba pick the country’s 1972 Olympic team.
As head coach at Northwestern State, Hildebrand helped found the Louisiana Association of Basketball Coaches half a century ago. As the LABC celebrates that anniversary with its 50th Annual Awards Banquet Saturday, May 4 in Baton Rouge, it’s fitting that Hildebrand will become only the fourth recipient of the organization’s Don Landry Award since that elite recognition for long-term impact and service to the game in Louisiana was created in 1998.
It’s named for the founding father of the LABC. Hildebrand, now living with his wife of 72 years, Julia, in Flower Mound, Texas, after more than a decade spent at The Oaks retirement community in Shreveport, is touched to receive it.
“Don Landry’s the one who has done so much for Louisiana basketball. He involved so many people and did so very much, and got schools around the state invested in the LABC and building our game around the state,” said Hildebrand. “We had such good times with great fellowship that people wanted to be included. So to receive an award with his name on it is a distinct honor.”
Another iconic figure in state basketball history, LABC Hall of Famer and 2023 Mr. Louisiana Basketball recipient Mike McConathy, has a far-reaching understanding of Hildebrand’s impact. McConathy’s father Johnny, the No. 5 pick in the 1951 NBA Draft, was a senior at Northwestern State when Hildebrand joined H. Lee Prather’s Demons. The younger McConathy was a prep All-American at Bossier City’s Airline High, recruited nationally but ultimately choosing Louisiana Tech over his father’s alma mater. Later, he was tabbed to be the Demons’ head coach in 1999 and in 23 seasons became the state’s all-time winningest coach.
“His connections to every aspect of the game in our state, and beyond, from a player to a coach to international play, to referees, he has run the whole gamut. That’s rare, anywhere, and he’s one of a kind in Louisiana,” said McConathy.
Hildebrand spent 16 seasons (1965-80) as head coach at his alma mater, Northwestern State, where he posted 191 wins. He retired, and was named the LABC’s Mr. Basketball a year later, but returned in 1983 as the Demons’ athletics director for 13 years, working at half-salary in a financially-strapped department that under his guidance developed into one of the more successful in the Southland Conference on, and off, the field of competition.
As a coach and administrator, Hildebrand was an outstanding mentor. Among his prize pupils: Demons’ guard and future longtime Notre Dame basketball coach Mike Brey along with athletic department interns Greg Burke, his successor as AD who held that post for the next 26 years, and Greg Sankey, now in his 10th year as the commissioner of the Southeastern Conference.
Hildebrand was enshrined in the LABC’s Hall of Fame in 1992 for his coaching career. A year following his retirement as AD, Hildebrand became one of the NCAA’s Division I officials evaluators in 1997, a role he fulfilled for 17 seasons. In 2006, he became one of the inaugural four NCAA regional officiating supervisors.
Generations of coaches, players and fans – and certainly, officials – have felt the influence. He says it’s been more than an equal trade.
“Louisiana basketball has been my life,” he said. “The Hildebrand family has lived a Louisiana basketball life. And it’s been good to us.”
Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com